Both sessions occurred simultaneously and were held on the sixth floor of Lowenstein with eight  to ten students in each class. The classes explored the process for brainstorming ideas for both poetry and short story writing while also having the students write something of their own.

Terrance Hayes is the author of four books of poetry and a 2010 National Book Award in Poetry recipient who has been published in The New Yorker and The American Poetry Review just to name a few. Patricia Smith is a four-time National Poetry Slam individual champion who has appeared on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. Smith is also the author of “Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah,” a collection of poems detailing the Great Migration, counting “Push” author, Sapphire, as a major fan.